Etymologically
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séparer

Etymology and origin of the French word séparer

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1314, Henri de Mondeville
Borrowed from
Latin separo
Ultimate origin
Latin (parō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin paro
Latin apparo
Latin separo
French séparer

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /se.pa.ʁe/[1]

Forms

séparer[1] The Académie wrote separer in 1694 and 1718, séparer from 1740.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sēparō (“to set apart, separate; to distinguish”).[2][3][4][5][6][1] The Latin verb is from sē-, marking separation (see séduire), and parō (“to prepare, arrange”) (see parer).[3][7][8] Its inherited outcome is sevrer, the older French form, of which “séparer” is a learned doublet remade on the Latin in the 14th century.[3][8][1]

Compare Old Occitan separar, Spanish separar and Italian separare.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Henri de Mondeville's Chirurgie (1314) has separer les choses conjointes, to stop things being together or forming a whole, and to set apart the elements of a mixture.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Se séparer “to divide” is from about 1398.[3] About 1330 it meant to keep apart from, and in 1375–79 to put at a distance in space; at the end of the 15th century a distance sépare places.[2][3] In 1549 it meant to distinguish by an operation of the mind, in 1552 to break up an agreement or a union, and, from 1559 to come between fighters.[2][3] Boileau (1674) has du bon or je separe le faulx.[2] Spouses who live apart are séparés, séparés de corps in law.[9][10]

Timeline

  • 1314 – Separer, Henri de Mondeville.[2]
  • c. 1330 – To keep apart, Guillaume de Digulleville.[2]
  • 1370 – Séparément, Oresme.[4]
  • 1549 – To distinguish, Robert Estienne.[2]
  • 1552 – To break up a union.[2]
  • 1559 – To part fighters.[2]
  • 1740 – The spelling séparer, Académie.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To separate, part, divide: séparer le blanc du jaune, séparer deux combattants.[1][2]
  2. To set apart, sort: séparer le bon grain de l'ivraie.[1][2]
  3. To form a boundary between: la rivière sépare les deux villages.[3][7]
  4. To distinguish (in the mind): séparer deux notions.[2][3]
  5. To estrange, split up: la guerre les a séparés.[2][1]
  6. Se séparer: to part, split up; to divide: ils se sont séparés, la route se sépare en deux.[1][3]

Word family

  • séparément
  • séparable
  • inséparable
  • séparatiste
  • séparé

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 474b
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Séparer.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/s%C3%A9parer. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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